Embers
by expectopatronum267
Summary: When Bethany stumbles into 12 Grimmauld Place during an Order of the Phoenix meeting, Remus can't help but notice her. However, not all about her is as it seems. Secrets will be revealed and romance will ensue, but what will happen when she can't conceal it anymore. *hints from Disney's Frozen
1. Chapter 1

_**Hello to whoever is reading this! You may be wondering why I didn't put this in the crossover section, because there are hints of 'Frozen' in the story, but none of the characters or locations are involved. Also, the chapters will be named after songs, but please don't hate on me that they aren't actually from the time period Harry Potter is set in. The songs relate more to the chapter than the time setting. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it! Oh, and don't forget to review! Thanks my lovelies! **_

_**This first chapter is named after Lana Del Rey's song Carmen. I recommend it to anyone, it also gives some background information to Bethany's character! **_

Carmen

_Darling, darling, doesn't have a problem_

_Lying to herself 'cause her liquor's top shelf_

_It's alarming honestly how charming she can be_

_Fooling everyone, telling them she's having fun_

_She says you don't want to be like me_

_Don't wanna see all the things I've seen_

_I'm dying, I'm dying_

_She says you don't want to get this way_

_Famous and dumb at an early age_

_Lying, I'm lying_

_The boys, the girls, they all like Carmen_

_She gives them butterflies, bats her cartoon eyes_

_She laughs like god, her mind's like a diamond_

_Audio tune lies, she's still shining_

_Like lightning, ohh, like lightning_

_Carmen, Carmen, staying up til morning_

_Only seventeen, but she walks the streets so mean_

_It's alarming truly how disarming you can be_

_o.O.o_

Remus Lupin sits at the scrubbed wooden table, in the narrow kitchen of number 12 Grimmauld place. Sirius is sitting beside him, simply itching for a chance to get to see his godson again, in the flesh, for over a year. Because his best friend is distracting him thoroughly, Remus isn't really paying much attention to what the rest of the Order of the Phoenix members are talking about, and by Sirius' constant glances at the clock, he guesses he must not be either.

"I think that will be enough for tonight, we'll see you on Wednesday Evening, Dedalus, Elphias, Hestia, Emmeline and you too Sturgis!" Moody growls at the last order member who was prone to forgetting the time and date for meetings and he waves at everyone around the table sheepishly before leaving. He watches as Molly hurries into the hallway, shouting for the teenagers hiding upstairs to come down for dinner, and he strongly recons that they were all probably listening into the meeting using some of Fred and George's Extendable Ears and he hears many pairs of footsteps hurrying down the staircase, too quick to respond to the Matriarch's cries.

Remus hears a loud crack, as the twins' apparate downstairs. They are finally able to use magic outside school and have been using every opportunity to put their new rights to use. Molly jumps violently,

"Just because you're allowed to use magic now does NOT mean you have to whip your wands out for everything!" she screams as them as they hurry past into the kitchen. Sirius quickly gets to his feet, hurrying round the long table towards the door, clearly desperately wanting to see Harry again, and Remus follows after him quickly. It was always like that when they were at Hogwarts. Sirius chasing after girls with James whilst Remus tailed behind them, nose stuck in a book.

"Are you hungry Harry?" he hears Molly ask kindly, her husband adding,

"You sure you're alright Harry? Gave us quite a turn." But Sirius is done with waiting, and announces proudly,

"Harry Potter." Slowly Molly and Arthur part, leaving Harry standing grinning at his godfather in relief.

"Sirius!" he exclaims darting forward and they both hug one another, looking more like father and son. Remus flinches slightly at this thought, but thinks about how happy James and Lily would be knowing that their son had someone who cared for him as much as they did, and Remus smiles fondly at the scene before him.

Soon they are all sitting around the table together, sharing conversation and eating Molly's delicious stew when Harry starts asking questions about the Order, and what has Voldemort been doing, and despite Molly's loud protesting, Sirius divulges that Fudge and the Prophet has been spinning lies about Harry and Dumbledore, and also lets slip about Voldemort wanting the prophecy from the department of Ministries. Thanks heavens for Molly and her over protectiveness, because she jumps in at the last minute, cutting off the conversation quickly.

"No! That's enough! He's just a boy! You say much more and you might as well induct him into the order!" she exclaims hurrying forward and silencing Sirius with a stern stare. Everyone knows not to mess with Molly Weasley.

"Good, I want to join!" Harry announces quickly, causing everyone to stare at him in stunned disbelief. "If Voldemort's raising an army then I want to fight!" he adds, causing Sirius to hit his fist off the table and lean back in his chair triumphantly, gaining his old teenage charm. Remus has to refrain from rolling his eyes at his best friends childishness, but before any more can be said, the front door bangs open and everyone jumps to their feet, standing staring at the intruder, wands being drawn throughout the room. But what they see causes everyone to halt from attacking, instead leaving them standing there in shock.

"Sup bitches!" the intruder announces.

She's a girl… probably in her early twenties, Remus guesses instantly, and she's wearing a short, expensive looking red dress that only comes to her mid-thigh. Her light brown hair is done up, bright red lipstick and smoky eyes and extremely tall, almost lethal looking black heels that make her smooth legs look like they go on for miles. Her breasts are full and large, much bigger than most people her age, and her dress is revealing a valley of a cleavage. She's not skinny, but curvy with a skinny waist and the fabric of her dress doesn't cover much of her shapely legs. Remus has never been with many women, mainly due to the fact of his Lycanthropy, but he knows that this is a woman and a half. But the most striking thing about her is that she's standing there, completely unabashed about all the wands trained on her. She flashes everyone a confident smile, showing straight, white and even teeth and Remus suddenly feels drawn to this strange, beautiful, smirking woman, but he keeps his wand raised at her threateningly.

There's only silence… and then…

"Bethany!" Fred groans in annoyance and horror, "What in Merlin's name are you doing here?!" he asks angrily,

"You know this girl?" Alastor asks sternly,

"Yes but we didn't tell her about… this place." George says cautiously, clearly not wanting to give any more information away to the woman.

"Hey boys." She says winking at the twins and they sigh in exasperation, "Are you not happy to see me?" she asks, still grinning at them.

"No. Get lost!" Fred orders at her and she rolls her eyes, putting her hands on her hips,

"Temper temper. That isn't any way to treat a lady." She says putting on a clearly fake, stern face.

"Well, you aren't much of one of them are you?" Hermione scoffs, and the stranger stares at her, and Remus fills with a sense of dread before the woman smiles at Hermione kindly.

"You would never understand, Hermione. And you never will. You don't want to see the things I've seen." She says somewhat protectively of the younger girl, who stares at her in bewilderment, clearly not expecting her reaction either.

"You need to leave! Now!" Alastor orders in his gruff voice and the woman crosses her arms.

"No, I don't think I will." She says skipping towards them, her heels clipping on the wooden floor and everyone backs away nervously, and as she passes the twins she winks at them flirtily before entering the kitchen.

"Mmmm, something smells good." She moans, sending all the blood from Remus' head to… another part of his anatomy. God what was wrong with him? He was acting so… pervy. She was probably young enough to be his daughter!

"Leave now and we won't hurt you!" Mad Eye adds dangerously and she raises an eyebrow at him,

"Why are you acting so mean? All of you? All I want is some food and a place to stay, is that too much to ask from two of my ex professors and six housemates?" she asks pouting her thick red lips, and although Remus knows she is putting it on, it is rather endearing.

"You can't stay here! Get lost! Go home!" George pleads with her and she sits down in one of the wooden chairs before placing her feet on the table, still in her killer heels. She could almost hear everyone internally gasp at her rude behaviour. But she liked this… she liked seeing everyone's reactions, thinking her as a danger to their little society, and she wanted to see how far she could push them. Just as long as they didn't find out…

"Bethany, please go!" Ginny begs her as her other housemates nod beside the red head.

"No, I can't." she states in reply, aggravating the order members even more, and Remus shakes his head, clearing his mind of the lust he previously felt for this woman. She is rude, and fake and he didn't want anything to do with her, no matter how pretty she looked.

"Why can't you?" Ron asks looking completely confused,

"Because I have nowhere else to go!" the light haired woman… Bethany, that was her name, exclaimed in annoyance. "My parents finally kicked me out, I told you it would happen sooner or later." She says in her clear, articulate, English voice, directing her words to Fred and George. "I've been walking the streets, looking for someone, anyone to take me in. For weeks I've been going from sofa to sofa, making friends with muggles at parties and sleeping at theirs. I've got into a few scrapes, a few near misses…" she says, looking as though she's supressing a haunting memory, "But now I've finally found people from OUR world and you want to kick me out?" she asks furiously, eyes burning with a wave of anger.

"How did you find us here anyway? It's hidden?" Molly's voice pipes up, her mothering side showing again.

"It wasn't that hard to be honest, all I had to do was watch the skies." She says gesturing to the ceiling dreamily, before smirking at Alastor who still has his wand on her, "You should really use concealment charms next time." She says causing Sirius to laugh quietly behind the older Auror.

"Leave now, or we'll throw you out." Alastor growls with conviction and Remus sees the panic in Molly's eyes. He knows how guilty she'd feel if they threw out a young girl who just needed someone to care for her. Bethany clearly hadn't been getting any of that at home if her parents had thrown her out. _"For what?" _Remus wondered silently.

"No, I don't think you will. If you do, who's to say I won't walk down to the Ministry and tell them that you're harbouring a certain wanted mass murderer?" she asks her eyes drifting over to Sirius with amusement on her face. Remus surveys this girl in distress, he didn't want to leave her on the streets, but she could not be trusted. They had no choice.

"Then we'll perform a memory charm on you!" Mad eye declares but Bethany doesn't flinch, she merely smiles at Alastor teasingly,

"I don't think you want to do that." She says simply,

"Oh, I do." The Auror replies before crying, "Obliviate!" but with a flash he is thrown backwards hitting the floor with a loud thump, his wooden leg in the air.

"I warned you…" Bethany says, a triumphant gleam in her eye as Remus helps the man back to his feet. Now, everyone is quiet once more, staring in disbelief at the girl sitting with her feet up on the table, so teasing and flirty at the same time, not realising everyone's sheer horror at her actions. The girl didn't even mutter a word!

"It's impossible." Remus mumbles in shock and her eyes glance at him, and he meets the grey with his blue ones and she smirks,

"It's not probable, but not impossible." She replies winking at him, and instead of being turned on like before, he merely sighs in exasperation at her antics.

"You're amazing!" Sirius suddenly announces and Bethany looks at him in surprise.

"Really? You know, for a wanted felon you're pretty cool." She says beaming at him, and he grins at her cockily, clearly enjoying the attention from such a beautiful young woman.

"And so are you." He says before pausing, "You're not really going to turn me into the Ministry, are you?" he asks and she bites her lip in thought, which Remus finds honestly quite cute. Merlin, what was WRONG with him?! Bethany's eyes trace over Remus, then the rest of the order members, before resting on Harry who is standing close beside his godfather's side.

"You didn't really kill all those people, did you?" she asks quietly, and slowly, Sirius shakes his head, causing her to laugh loudly. The sudden change in atmosphere made everyone jump in fright, but she continued laughing anyway. It was a hysterical noise, one that tugged at the corners of every other person in the room, even Remus had to fight to not laugh along with her. It was contagious, loud and booming and sweet at the same time.

"What's so funny?" Sirius asks grinning at her still and she stops, smiling up at him with big eyes,

"I'm just glad that not all people from dark wizarding families turn out bad." She admits and Sirius walks around the table before wrapping an arm around the younger girl's shoulders,

"Everyone, Bethany is going to be staying here until other arrangements are made!" he announces and the teenagers of the house cheer in delight, sitting back down at the table and beginning to talk animatedly with Bethany who responds in kind, Sirius slumping down in the chair beside her, watching her attentively. Alastor growls angrily,

"Dumbledore will be hearing about this." He says before stomping from the room. Molly and Arthur tentatively sit down at the table as well, and Remus follows their lead. If Alastor is going to Dumbledore then there isn't much more to be done.

"I'll be gone by the 1st September, I've still got one year left of school." She tells Sirius thankfully, batting her eyelashes at him.

"You're-You're still at Hogwarts?" he asks in disbelief, taking in her short dress and vast amounts of makeup. Molly almost chokes on her cup of tea.

"Seventh year, with Fred and George. I'm in Gryffindor too." She says with a hint of pride in her voice.

"_Well then, she can't be so bad." _Remus thinks before adding shortly, _"Yes, but so was Peter."_

"However, Bethany hangs around with a totally different crowd to us, don't you?" Fred asks icily and she glares at him,

"You mean the popular crowd?" she asks in much the same tone,

"They revolve around you. When you're ill, they don't know what to do with themselves." George adds sneeringly and Bethany unexpectedly laughs again,

"I know! Those poor people! To have no thoughts of their own, dear me…" she says shaking her head in dismay making everyone laugh again.

Remus sits making calculations in his head, when he was teaching at Hogwarts Fred and George were in their… fifth year… so… yes. He definitely remembers a Bethany in the same class as them. She wasn't wearing so much makeup back then, and her school skirt wasn't as short, and she wasn't as developed but he remembers her constant chattering and flirting with the others in class. He had sometimes had to dock points from her for being late or disrupting lessons by shouting across the class to someone, but she was very intelligent, and when she wasn't talking to her friends, she had her head in a book.

"How did you manage to get money for food and things?" Ginny asks interestedly, as if Bethany's life was some great big adventure and the older girl smiles back slyly,

"I did some party tricks, pulled a few stunts. Flirted and made friends and then borrowed money or shelter. I even worked at a strip club for sometime…" she says causing the twins mouths to fall open in awe as Mrs Weasley clears her throat loudly, but Bethany wants to see how far she can push her. "Maybe I can give you a spin sometime, boys." She says with heat in her voice and Remus sees Sirius gawp at her as well.

"That is quite enough!" Mr Weasley interrupts angrily and Bethany laughs again,

"You honestly believed that? Of course I don't strip, what do you take me for? My vault in Gringotts is full to bursting so I managed to convert some of that to muggle money but… well, my parents were waiting outside for me one day, wanting my vault key back. I refused and then I had to start borrowing from people."

"Why did they want your key back? That's your money!" Hermione exclaims, going from insulting Bethany to feeling sorry for her, she had that effect on people.

"Well, when my uncle died he left a large fortune to my parents until I turned of age. It was all locked in their vault, but when they chucked me out I realised that I wasn't going to see it again. I went to Gringotts and transferred it to mine, leaving them with less than half of what they had before. My uncle didn't leave anything to them… you see." She says slyly and Sirius lets out a bark of a laugh,

"That's what I call guts!" he says and she gives him a quick smile,

"Yes well, I think you should all be going to bed. You've had enough excitement for one day, Bethany, you can share with Ginny and Hermione." Molly says cleaning up the plates and ushering the youngsters out the kitchen.

"Oh." Bethany says rather disappointed at the fact of having to share with two girls years younger than her.

"Or you can always share with me, sweetheart?" Sirius flirts with bravado and Bethany gives him a sultry smile,

"That's a tempting offer, but I'm simply exhausted… maybe some other time, sweetie." She says before strutting from the kitchen her hips swaying wantonly. Remus swallows hard, suddenly realising his hands are laying clenched upon the table. He clears his throat and summons a glass of water, downing it quickly. Sirius still staring at the doorway.

"She wants it. I can see it." He says lowly so Molly and Arthur cannot overhear. Remus growls at his friend,

"For heavens sake, Sirius! She's still at school, she's still a child!"

"She's 17, Remus. She's legal, and she seems more than compliant." Sirius says with a knowing gleam in his eye. Remus knows this look more than well. Having seen it many times on his best friends face when they were at school whenever he settled on a new girl he wanted to seduce.

"Sirius, no offence… but you're not exactly 17 again either." Remus says in exasperation,

"Just you wait Remus, I'll wipe that look off your face." Sirius declares with a grin and Remus inhales sharply trying to keep calm, because all of a sudden, Moony is starting to howl inwardly.


	2. Teenagers

_**Hello again! Nice of you to drop by, this chapter will begin to show Bethany's destructive side, as well as her more human one. The song I chose for this chapter is Teenagers by My Chemical Romance, because it shows all Bethany's pent up anger and how people react around her. Please favourite and review and I'll love you forever! **_

Teenagers

_They said all teenagers scare the living shit out of me_

_They could care less as long as someone will bleed_

_So darken your clothes or strike a violent pose_

_Maybe they'll leave you alone but not me_

Bethany wakes up from the pain resonating from her chest and she slowly sits up, clutching her ribs gingerly. She glances around the room she is sharing with Ginny and Hermione and finds that the two other girls must already be awake, because their beds are empty. She carefully gets to her feet, making sure she doesn't move too much to aggravate the pain more and she walks over to the mirror on the wall. She slowly pulls her pyjama top up just a little bit to reveal a large bruise on the left of her torso, just above her ribcage. It looks swollen as well and Bethany tentatively touches it and winces as the pain shoots through her once more. "_No doubt a few broken ribs." _She thinks to herself silently cursing herself. A few nights ago she had gotten into a fight with a group of men outside a club. They wanted her to go home with them but when she refused they had gotten violent, and because her bitch of a mother had snapped her wand before throwing her out, she had no way to escape but fight back, earning her several kicks to the chest before the men left her in the street.

She opens the top drawer in the dresser beside the bed she slept in last night and pulls out her small black bag. Before her parents snapped her wand she managed to use an undetectable extension charm on it, and packed most of her belongings, including all her school things and Bethany begins to rummage around for some clothes before eventually pulling out a pair of shorts and a dark green, silk shirt. It takes her twice the usual amount of time to get dressed before she quickly puts her hair up in a messy bun and then using a little bit of foundation but then using liberal amounts of eye makeup and lipstick. The tricky part is the shoes. She has to bend over to pull on her heels and the stabbing pain in her side causes tears to appear at the corner of her eyes. She blinks them away with venom, not wanting anyone to know that she's so hurt and she lets out a gasp of relief when the shoes are finally on, leaning backwards against the bed and easing the pain a little. She gets to her feet, dabbing the corner of her eyes before calming herself down. She knows what the consequences will be if she loses it.

She clip clops down the narrow wooden staircase until she reaches the hallway and then she follows the voices into the kitchen, opening the door with sudden bravado causing everyone to stop and look up at her in annoyance, in most cases, except Sirius who smiles welcomingly.

"Come sit down over here, you must be hungry!" he says pulling out the vacant chair beside him and Bethany plasters her best, brightest fake smile on her face,

"Thanks, I am starving." She says taking the seat ignoring the mutterings coming from the twins, Hermione, Ginny, Ron and Harry. Molly ladles porridge into a bowl before sliding it down the table at her and Bethany catches it,

"Why thank you, Mrs Weasley I am sure this will taste perfectly delectable." Bethany replies, but the way she says the last word causes Remus' grip on his glass of Pumpkin juice to tighten, and Sirius swallows hard, before flashing her his famous flirty smile.

"What are your plans for today, sweetheart?" he asks her as she licks the porridge off a spoon, noticing the way it causes Fred and George to mouth wordlessly like goldfish.

"I'm going out, actually."

"Alone?" Mr Weasley asks concerned and she nods,

"Well, unless anyone wants to come with me." Bethany replies batting her eyelashes at the twins who wake up from their daydreaming and turn away from her, making her grin wider.

"You can't go out alone, it's dangerous!" Mrs Weasley cuts in and Bethany shrugs her shoulders,

"Yeah, whatever, don't save any dinner for me. I'll probably be out late." Bethany says rudely, getting up from the table and casually exiting from the house, leaving everyone reeling from her impoliteness.

"I hope Alastor has had a chat with Dumbledore about her yet, I don't like having her here." Arthur says and everyone nods and murmurs in agreement… well, everyone apart from Sirius.

"I think you should lay off her, we don't know what went on in her house."

"And flirting with her is going to make her feel better, is it?" Remus asks sarcastically causing Sirius to roll his eyes at him,

"You're just jealous that some young women still find ME attractive." He retorts causing Harry to groan in embarrassment,

"Please, don't!" he says covering his ears with his hands and Sirius grins sheepishly,

"Sorry, Harry. I'll leave it from now on." He says looking awkward.

o.O.o

Remus and Sirius are sitting in the drawing room late at night, losing track of the time as they reminisce about the good old days at Hogwarts.

"Do you remember the Slytherin- Gryffindor Quidditch match?" Remus asks laughing loudly as Sirius finishes retelling a story about James, Lily and a packet of Drooble's best blowing gum.

"How could I not? James flew over to the commentary stand, stole the microphone right out of Marlene McKinnon's hand and asked Lily out in front of the whole stadium!" Sirius says laughing along with his old friend.

"Lily went as red as her hair, you should have seen her…" Remus says chuckling fondly at the memory,

"I did see her! I could see her from my broom!" Sirius replies laughing along and they laugh for a little while longer before falling into a comfortable silence, remembering all the high points of their time at Hogwarts, and the short period of time they had with James and Lily.

"Hang on a second…" Sirius says, getting up from the couch and crossing over to a desk in the corner. Remus watches his friend with curiosity before Sirius turns back around, holding something out to him. "I knew I had this around somewhere." Sirius says as Remus takes it and he lets out a short laugh. It's a picture from James and Lily's wedding, both of them standing grinning at the camera, their arms wrapped around one another tightly, looking like the living embodiment of happiness. On either side of the couple stands Sirius and Remus, both looking far younger and more vibrant than their present selves. One half of the photo has been folded over, and Remus realises it's to hide the Pettigrew in the picture from view. Remus lets out a small sigh, wondering how everything went wrong, and how Peter could stand there, right beside his friends whom he was planning to betray.

"They should have lived." Sirius says shortly, downing the rest of the Firewhisky in his hand and Remus nods, not wanting to say anything, or perhaps he just wasn't able to.

BAM! They both jump with a start as they hear the front door slamming shut and they pull out their wands before rushing downstairs to see what's going on. Bethany is leaning against the door, tears glazed on her face, her makeup running and looking extremely upset and wobbly on her feet. One hand is clutching her ribs, the other wrapped firmly around the neck of a bottle, and the two men watch in bewilderment as she takes a large gulp from the bright pink liquid.

"What are you doing?!" Sirius demands as she drops several large bags and parcels to the ground, causing the portrait of Mrs Black to start screaming profanity about the residents of her home.

"What's it to you! What do you care! What does anyone care!" Bethany screams at him, staggering forward, forgetting all about her shopping and heading towards the kitchen. As she passes the staircase she pitches forward, almost falling flat on her face due to her drunkenness and high heels but Remus manages to catch her before she falls and she pushes him away,

"Why don't you just leave me alone!" she cries over Mrs Black's wailing and she rounds on the portrait, "SHUT UP!" she screams and usually this would just cause Mrs Black to shout louder, but instead she just freezes, and no more words come out of her mouth.

"What on earth is going on?" a worried voice asks as Molly and Arthur come down the stairs nervously, both in their night clothes and dressing gowns.

"Bethany is…" Remus begins carefully but she interrupts him,

"Drunk! A whore! A dirty, filthy, slut!" she screams, standing there sobbing uncontrollably, looking like a child that's lost their parents. Sirius steps forward, snatching the bottle of muggle alcohol from her,

"Right, you've had enough to drink." He says but this just angers Bethany even more.

"Give it back! Let me drink!" she snarls, reaching for the bottle, but Sirius holds it out of reach, and when she is unable to get to it she starts pounding Sirius' chest in fury.

"Just let me drink! I just want to forget! I don't want to feel this anymore! Why can't you just leave me alone!" she screams sobbing and Remus watches her in shock at her proclamation as Molly gasps behind him, her motherly instincts resurfacing once again.

"I just want to forget…" Bethany whispers through her tears as she begins to fall to her knees, but Remus catches her without thinking and she starts sobbing into his chest.

"What happened?" Molly asks Remus and Sirius, concern in her voice.

"I'm not sure, she just…" Sirius begins,

"Take her upstairs, Remus, quickly." Arthur orders and Remus picks the sobbing girl up into his arms and carries her up the several flights of stairs and into the room with Ginny and Hermione. He carefully sets her down on her own bed as Molly tucks the covers around her,

"Mum, what's going on?" a quiet voice asks and the four adults turn to find Ginny sitting up in bed looking fearful.

"Nothing, Ginny. Bethany just isn't feeling very well, go back to sleep." Molly soothes her and Ginny sighs in annoyance at being left out but does indeed lie back down and fall asleep. By the time they turn back to Bethany her eyelids are shut and her chest is falling and rising evenly, but even in sleep she looks fearful.

"We'll see what's wrong with her in the morning." Arthur says in a fatherly way heading towards the door, but Molly's voice full of panic halts them,

"Arthur, look!" she says leaning over the younger girl.

"What is it?" he asks returning to his wife's side and they all look over her shoulder to find a large swollen bruise on Bethany's ribcage.

"Her top had ridden up slightly and I noticed it immediately. It looks like someone's beaten her half to death." Molly says in horror, and Remus watches with a frown. No wonder this girl was so messed up. Molly then presses a hand to Bethany's forehead but immediately retracts it,

"She's ice cold! Now where did I put my wand…" she mutters hands checking all the pockets in her dressing gown before finding it. She casts several charms over the girl and some of the bruising and swelling goes down significantly,

"Her ribs are mended, but the rest of the bruising will take a while to go down. She's still so cold though…" Molly says her voice laced with sympathy,

"Come on, Molly. There isn't anything else we can do now." Arthur says leading her wife away. Sirius turns to face his best friend,

"I wonder what all that was about." He says casually sauntering from the room and Remus follows after him after one last concerned glance at the sleeping young witch.

o.O.o

Bethany wakes up with her head throbbing as if there is a white hot burning inside her mind. She slowly sits up, and the pain in her ribs is only a fraction of what it had been the other day, and with that in mind she checks her wounds quickly. The bruising is still there, but the swelling has gone down significantly and when she gently touches the wound with the tips of her fingers, it no longer hurts that much. She turns around and then notices the makeup smudges on the white pillow and she bites her lip, jumping to her feet and scanning the room, looking for the bags of shopping she bought yesterday but when she finds them sitting by the door, she pauses. She only remembers half of what happened last night, and she hardly even recalls coming back to Grimmauld place, let alone getting up the stairs and into bed! She's still wearing the clothes she had on yesterday, but she doesn't bother changing into anything else just yet, for she's too busy trying to remember what happened.

Her parents were there… yes, and they were shouting at her and then there were flashes and bangs… then drink, and more drink and dancing and people around her sniffing and injecting themselves… then crying and that was it…

She shuts her eyes tightly for a moment, trying to remember what her parents had shouted to her in Diagon Alley,

"Filthy blood traitor!"

"You're a disgrace to our name!"

"You're a waste of my flesh! I have no daughter!" their voices echo in her head and she opens her eyes with a start as the bedroom door opens,

"Bethany? Are you alright?" a timid voice asks and Hermione and Ginny peer around the door, surveying her cautiously. Bethany forces a smile at the two younger girls, no matter how rude and violent she could be, she always had a soft spot for the younger kids in her house. Hermione looked like her when she was younger, bushy brown hair, and always a book in hand, of course Hermione was far prettier than her. Ginny was also such a kind, gentle but strong willed girl which reminded Bethany of herself too… well before she turned into… this. She hurriedly searches in the shopping bags for her new wand, Rowan and Unicorn hair and cleans up the smeared makeup from her face.

"Everyone's worrying about you downstairs." Ginny adds anxiously and Bethany sighs,

"I'm ok, I'm just coming." She says getting to her feet slowly and following the girls down to the kitchen.

Ginny and Hermione enter the kitchen and take their seats quickly, but Bethany stands in the doorway, as all the faces around the table look up at her anxiously.

"Bethany, how are you feeling?" Mrs Weasley asks after what seems like an age and Bethany swallows hard, wondering what she did and said.

"_Oh no, if I lost it last night…" _she thinks clenching her fists behind her back in fear.

"I'm… ok." Bethany eventually says, still on her feet.

"Well, why don't you have something to eat." The motherly woman says kindly but Bethany doesn't move.

"What happened last night?" she asks cautiously, fear starting to rise under the surface of her skin… she could feel it. The four adults around the table exchange quick glances,

"You don't remember anything?" Sirius asks her slowly and Bethany's eyes scan over the other faces in the room. She takes in Molly and Arthur's worried expressions, Sirius' bewildered one and last her eyes fix on Remus, noticing the frown on his face and the crease between his eyebrows, clearly concerned.

"No." Bethany says quietly but Remus can sense her slight hesitation, and doubts her honesty.

"Fred, George why don't you all start getting read of the Doxies in the curtains upstairs." Mrs Weasley asks giving the twins a warning glance, and the twins reluctantly drag the rest of the teenagers upstairs, leaving Bethany and the adults in the kitchen.

"You came home very much distressed, we had to take you upstairs to bed." Mr Weasley says,

"Bethany… you had a large bruise on your chest, how did it happen?" Molly asks cautiously and Remus surveys Bethany's face for a reaction, but it remains blank.

"I… I got into a fight a few days ago." She replies shortly,

"Oh. Did they… do anything else to you…?"

"No." Bethany replies in the same curt fashion her eyes fixed on the wall.

"Alright, then what happened yesterday?" Sirius asks curiously and Bethany grits her teeth slightly,

"I went to Diagon Alley to get some things. I met my parents there. They cursed me. I went out for a few drinks and… I don't remember anything else." Bethany says simply her face blank, but then she adds quietly, "That was the point. I didn't want to remember what happened." She says leaving the grown-ups to exchange saddened glances.

She really was just an abused, messed up child. No wonder she was the way she was after everything her parents had done to her. Remus had only known her two days and he already knew that whoever her parents were must be almost as bad as Sirius', which was saying something.

"Why didn't you heal yourself earlier on?" Remus asks, speaking for the first time and Bethany's eyes flicker with something, darting to his face, and for the first time he doesn't see flirtatiousness or rudeness or seduction, but pain and sorrow.

"My parents snapped my wand in half when they threw me out." She says hoarsely, her eyes becoming watery.

"What?!" Sirius exclaims in horror as Remus flinches. Snapping a magical persons wand was something people do when they were cast out from the wizarding world, and Bethany was a cast out in every sense of the word.

"Oh, dear, that's awful!" Molly says darting forward and wrapping her arms around the girl comfortingly.

Bethany freezes, a look of panic on her face… and Remus feels misery flood through him. She looked like she'd never been given a hug before in her life. Molly pulls away quickly, sensing the other girls distress,

"I'm sorry dear, sit down, have something to eat. Bacon? Eggs?" she asks hurrying back around the table to start frying something in the adjoining kitchen, and still Bethany remains standing.

"Did anything… strange happen, last night before I went to bed?" she asks cautiously and everyone shakes their heads,

"Well, you were very cold. I just thought you were coming down with something. You were like ice." Molly says busying herself by the stove. Remus watches as Bethany blanches, her face whitening dramatically and terror flooding her face,

"I- I have to go." She gasps, body trembling as she practically flees the room, and Remus glances at his best friend who has the same expression on his face as he did the night before.

"What was that about?" he asks befuddled.


	3. Ride

_**Hello again to everyone still reading this! I hope some people are… meh. This chapter is named after another one of Lana Del Rey's songs, Ride. I wanted to use something that shows the split personality in Bethany, on one hand she wants to forget her problems by drinking and partying and having fake relationships, but on the other she's tired of the whole charade. In this chapter we also see Remus' growing attachment to Bethany (wink, wink)**_

Ride

_I hear the birds on the summer breeze,_

_I drive fast, I am alone in the night_

_Been tryin' hard not to get into trouble,_

_but I, I've got a war in my mind_

_I just ride, just ride,_

_I just ride, just ride_

_I'm tired of feeling like I'm fucking crazy_

_I'm tired of driving 'til I see stars in my eyes_

_It's all I've got to keep myself sane, baby_

_So I just ride, I just ride_

Bethany shifts uncomfortably in her sleep. She has always preferred to sleep on her side but her ribs still hurt too much for that to be possible, so lying face up has become her default position. Fed up, she sits up, leaning against the head board in defeat. She was never going to get much sleep until the bruising went down. She's sitting there when she suddenly hears creaking footsteps out in the hallway, and nosily she crawls out of bed, pulling on her Gryffindor hoodie which she had bought just to make her parents even madder at her, and peeks out of the room. Harry is slowly walking down the rickety staircase and curiously, Bethany follows after him at a distance. She stands at the bottom of the stairs as she watches Harry enter the kitchen, where hushed voices are conversing already. She looks up at the antique grandfather clock in front of her and sees that it's only around 6:00 am.

"_I wonder what's going on." _She ponders to herself, before deciding to go and check it out, but before she enters the room, she puts on her tough, flirty act before pushing open the door.

"Good morning." She says in a sing song voice as everyone looks up at her. Harry groans in annoyance at her presence, but she ignores him, sitting down beside him and opposite his god father.

Since her arrival, Hermione and Ginny had told her everything about how a mass murderer was being allowed to stay in a home with supposedly innocent people, and she was shocked to find out that Sirius had been framed by Ron's rat for the deaths of Lily and James Potter. However there were still some things she didn't know, like what all the meetings were for and who were the members, but she could live with that. After all, she already knew everything already from Albus. Bethany helps herself to some bacon and eggs before slouching in her chair, examining everyone else.

"Why does everyone look so depressed?" she asks leaning forward and stabbing a sausage with her fork before taking a bite out of it.

"Harry has his trail this morning at the Ministry." Sirius explains, casting a glum look at his god son. This announcement causes Bethany to choke on her mouthful of food.

"Trail?" she exclaims, coughing and everyone glances at her.

Remus notices the sudden disappearance of her cocky, confident side as her eyes fill with shock and disbelief. She looks genuinely concerned for Harry's wellbeing. Remus had been noticing these short interludes in her persona, and it made him dwell on the fact that this girl might not be all she seems. There was something deeper to her that no one else had really noticed, like she was hiding some dark secret under the large wall of flirting and makeup she used. But it was at times like this, when she seemed so open and vulnerable, that had Remus yearn to know why this girl was hiding behind a façade. She wasn't wearing short clothes or any makeup at all yet because it was still so early. Her Gryffindor hoodie was baggy on her and she was actually wearing pyjama trousers! Her light brown hair was frizzy and wavy and looked slightly bushy, much like Hermione's. Without all the makeup on her Remus could also see some imperfections on her usually flawless face. Her eyes looked weary and tired, there were light freckles on her forehead and nose and face was rather round and childlike, her nose straight, but slightly disproportionate on her face. It was these imperfections, without all this makeup that made her look so much… kinder, gentler, human. It made her look even more beautiful, in Remus' opinion anyway. Not that he would ever really admit that to anyone else or even himself.

"You didn't know?" Arthur asks her disbelievingly and she shakes her head, before she seems to regain herself again, her walls coming up.

"Nope. Why? What did you do now Harry? Save the wizarding world once again?" she asks sarcastically, making Harry smile slightly, despite his nerves. Something that no one else had been able to do.

"No, I used a patronus to get rid of some dementors that came at me and my cousin." He replies and she thinks for a moment,

"The fat one?" she asks placing her plate back on the table and Harry laughs at this,

"The fat one." He agrees and Remus can't help but smile at the pair of them. He knows what Bethany is doing, cheering Harry up before his trail. Everyone else had tried to do this, Sirius included but Harry hadn't even cracked a smile. The two of them look like brother and sister.

"Well, it was in defence right. So they can't punish you." She says looking at the adults around the table for confirmation,

"Absolutely." Tonks says, yawning once again.

"Well then, you'll be fine." Bethany says downing a glass of orange juice.

"Thanks, Bethany." Harry says looking disconcerted by her unusual kindness.

"Don't mention it." She replies, winking at him… and the other Bethany is back once again. They bid Harry good luck as Arthur takes him off to the Ministry with him for work, which leaves the rest of them sitting at the table in silence.

"It's ridiculous what the Ministry is putting that poor boy through, simply because he told the truth that you-know-who is back. Everyone thinks he's lying…" Molly says clearing up their plates with a swish of her wand. That's when Bethany opens her mouth and says,

"Well they're right aren't they? He is lying about Voldemort being back." She says, leaving everyone sitting with their mouths hanging open in angry disbelief.

Not only had she just used Voldemort's real name instead of you-know-who she had just called Harry a liar, and basically Dumbledore as well, in front of many members of the Order of the Phoenix. Bethany stands there before realising what she has said, and she mentally kicks herself for being such an idiot, but there's no way to go back now. Apologising is a sign of defeat, and she can't let anyone see her for what she truly is.

"How dare you! That's my god son you're insulting!" Sirius bellows furiously and Bethany doesn't even flinch, she just stands there, fists clenching.

"Well, I'm sorry if my opinion doesn't match yours." She hisses back,

"Harry is not a liar! You-know-who has returned, Dumbledore always said he would…" Remus says trying to remain calm,

"Well then Albus must be wrong." She retorts back and Remus studies her for a moment inquisitively,

"_Albus?"_

"Dumbledore is not wrong! All these disappearances that have been happening…" Molly begins,

"Are merely coincidence." Bethany replies cooly,

"Oh, and Cedric Diggory's death was a coincidence too, was it?" Sirius asks and Bethany freezes, rounding on him, her whole body seeming to crackle with rage.

"Don't you DARE mention Cedric!" she yells, her whole body trembling. Everyone stares at her in shock, and her eyes widen in fear, before she hides her hands behind her back before composing herself again.

"I… I can't deal with this." She says before sprinting from the room.

"She is just…" Tonks begins, but unable to find a word to describe what Bethany is just causes her to let out a huff.

"I don't know why Dumbledore let her stay here. She's a loose cannon." Molly says hands on hips,

"I have just completely went off her." Sirius agrees, glaring at the seat she just vacated from.

"There's something wrong with her, I agree with that." Remus agrees but they hear footsteps coming back down the steps, before the front door slams shut.

"What is she doing?!" Molly proclaims angrily as they all hurrying through to the drawing room in the front of the house. The four Order members peer out of the window as they watch Bethany pace up and down on the pavement. She's wearing an extremely short pair of shorts, trainers and a tight red top and Molly sighs,

"Remus, would you mind going out and bringing her back in, I'm still in my dressing gown." She says in exasperation but before Remus can move away a car pulls up beside Bethany. She leans down seductively, speaking to whoever is driving through the open window, and after a short moment she glances back at the invisible house before opening the car door and getting into the passenger seat.

"What does she think she's doing?!" Sirius exclaims as they hurry to the front door but they haven't even opened it yet before the vehicle is speeding away.

o.O.o

"_I'm so stupid! I'm such an idiot! I almost lost it back there… I could have hurt them! What am I going to do? I'm such an idiot!" _Bethany repeats over and over again in her head, watching London fly by out of the window. She casts an inconspicuous look at the man that picked her up, he's wearing jeans and a white t-shirt with oil stains on it. He seemed friendly though, and asked her whether she was lost, before offering her a lift.

"_At least if he tries anything on, I have my wand." _Bethany thinks, and she clenches her hand around the said object in her pocket. Ever since she bought this wand she had adored it much more than her old one. Her old one had been bought by her parents and given to her, but this time this one was meant for her. It was hers and hers alone. This thought made her smile in satisfaction. She had nothing more to do with her parents at all, and she was glad of that.

"So, where are you going?" the man asks, his voice thick with a cockney accent.

"Anywhere, I don't care." Bethany replies, casting him a winning smile and he returns it nervously,

"Well, I need to go to work. I can drop you off there if you want?" he asks uncertainly,

"Thanks, that will be fine." She replies and they continue their journey in silence. After a while Bethany rolls the window down fully as they drive over the bridge and she closes her eyes as the cold wind whips her face and hair. It made her feel free. No responsibilities, no cares. Just her and the wind. She watches as the huge buildings and tourists and cheering people flash by and she yearns to be one of them. Without the fear of death and war and destruction on their hands.

It turns out the driver works as a mechanic in a little garage on a street that looks like it's seen better days.

"Thanks for the ride." Bethany says smiling at him and he waves an airy hand,

"Don't mention it." He says, eyes moving down to her bare legs.

"Well, bye." She says giving him a flirtatious grin before trotting off, looking for something, anything to keep her mind off what just happened back at Grimmauld place. Otherwise, if she didn't forget about it… something might happen. Something bad. Bethany walks along the streets, glancing in shop windows and trying to fit in. She doesn't get many odd looks which is good, but some guys start whistling at her at one point, but she continues on her way, ignoring them. After walking for hours, and thanking Merlin that she didn't choose to wear her heels, she reaches a familiar flat and she rings the bell, leaning against the door, exhausted from all that walking. The door is thrown open, and she stumbles a bit but gracefully gains her footing before looking up at a familiar face.

"Marie!" Bethany exclaims as the other girl squeals in delight,

"Bethany! Where've you been? You've missed so many parties lately, I was getting worried!" Marie says, but Bethany knows that her concern is as fake as her eyelashes.

"I've been keeping low for a while, but then I thought, fuck it." She says, grinning brilliantly at her 'friend'.

"Fuck it! And fuck everybody in sight, right?" Marie says laughing loudly before leading her into her small flat. There's glitter and confetti on the floor and the place looks trashed.

"You missed a good one, last night." Marie says, starting to clip some more blonde extensions into her hair.

"Any plans for tonight?" Bethany says casually, although deep down she is desperate.

"I'm going over to Christopher's tonight. Should be fun." Marie says casually, before putting her hair up in a huge do.

"Yeah." Bethany says wearily, sliding down onto the sofa.

Marie's bedroom door opens and a man strides out, wearing just his jeans.

"For fuck sake put a shirt on we have company!" Marie orders the man who grins at the blonde before casting a glance at Bethany, who crosses her legs and raises an eyebrow.

"Yes, you have company." You say cheekily and Marie throws a cushion at her,

"Keep your claws to yourself while I go and find my shoes." Marie says darting into the cupboard she keeps all her clothes in. The guy gives a cocky glance at Bethany as he opens the fridge door,

"Who are you?"

"I know Marie."

"So you're not friends?" he asks and she leans back into the sofa seductively.

"I don't have friends." She whispers seductively. Just one brief escape, I just want to forget everything just for a few seconds. But no. This was wrong. She wasn't like this. She couldn't do this.

She sits up suddenly, startling the over man and she crosses to the window, peering out of it.

"Sorry, I don't know what came over me." She says quietly, trying to gather her conflicted thoughts. One half of her was pleading for a release to all the pain and terror, but the other half, the half she feared and dreaded was crying out for her to stop being such a cold-hearted, destructive bitch.

"I think I do." The man replies huskily and Bethany turns around to find him inches away from her, instinctively she pushes back but his arms are around her.

"Let go of me! Marie! Stop it!" Bethany cries as the man pulls her to him as she hits and punches his chest.

"Oi!" Marie shouts, suddenly appearing, and she grabs the man's hair and drags him from the room throwing him out into the hallway and slamming the door behind him. "Keep away from us!" Marie screams through the door before turning to face Bethany.

"You ok?" she asks, there isn't any worry or concern in her voice. More like she's hoping she doesn't throw up and spoil her furniture.

"I'm fine." Bethany replies just as coolly,

"Well, I'm ready. Let's go."

They head to a large house near the centre of the city, it's only the afternoon and already there is music blasting out the windows, people coming to and fro from the house with bottles of alcohol and wearing their best party gear.

"Come on!" Marie calls over her shoulder and I follow after her as the door opens revealing a large magnificent hallway covered in glitter, streamers and multi coloured lights flashing around the room. There are people swaying and grinding and dancing provocatively, people spinning and sleeping and drinking and laughing. There are people swinging from poles and banisters and others dancing on tables or jumping up and down on top of one another. Marie walks directly to a guy and starts dancing with him closely, and Bethany heads over to the makeshift bar in the corner of the room.

"An aftershock." she orders over the volume of the pounding music and the bartender passes her a glass of the violent pink liquid. It's the only strong muggle drink that she can stomach and actually tastes good to her.

"£3." The bartender replies back and her eyes widen. She didn't bring any muggle money! She thought the drink would be free!

"I don't have any money." She replies angrily and the bartender raises an eyebrow,

"Well there's always a way for you to get it for free." He says smugly and taking a deep breath she leans over and grabs the front of his shirt, pulling him in and kissing him. She feels vile, and pathetic, snogging a guy for a drink, but she has no other way to get rid of all the feelings she's bottling up inside. After kissing the guy behind the bar for a few minutes she pulls away, grabbing the glass of drink and hurrying away through the crowd.

People around her are shouting and singing at the tops of their voices, and there are people sniffing and popping pills and downing bottle after bottle. Bethany joins in, keeping well away from the drugs, but she drinks, and drinks and drinks until she forgets about Cedric and Voldemort and her parents. She forgets about everything Albus told her before the summer, and everything that's happened since. She loses her mind, and soon she's dancing on table tops with people screaming her name and cheering her as she sways seductively in front of them. From her position on the table she can see Marie in the arms of a stranger, and she grins, leaping from the table and heading over to her.

"Marie! Marie! Hook me up." She says staggering slightly from her tipsiness,

"Piss off, Beth!" the blonde replies, pushing her away and Bethany rolls her eyes angrily.

"Whatever." She mutters to herself before scanning the hall for a bathroom.

It's only then does she sees the back of a tall, strong looking man, with sandy brown styled hair. She would know the back of that head anywhere. She darts forward, grin on her face, swaying from her intoxication, her mind foggy and not thinking straight as she taps the man on the shoulder and he turns to look down at her, and she freezes.

"What?" he asks rudely and she shakes her head, backing off.

"I- I…" she begins, unable to speak, she feels the coldness spreading from her fingertips up her arm, like icy water racing through her veins. She turns, arms crossed tightly, making sure she doesn't touch anything as she blinks back the tears savagely. She thought that man was Cedric. Her best and only friend in the world. But it wasn't. Of course it wasn't, how could it be? Cedric was dead.


End file.
